India, Oct. 11 -- "Where are you from?"

"India."

"Oh, you don't look Indian."

About 30 years ago, this conversation would have thrilled me as a child growing up near India's biggest tourist attraction, the Taj Mahal. The non-Indians were attractive with their mostly cute clothes and accents. Today, the umpteenth iteration of the above is annoying at the minimum. Passing follows the law of diminishing returns even in terms of joy. I resist the urge to snap at enquirers in Kenya, Sardinia, Italy, the US, the UK, West Asia and countless other splashes on the world map. Paradoxically, many a time, they are from my mofussil in Uttar Pradesh. My Italian friend once quipped while gobbling golgappa in my hometown, "More people are curious abou...